One of the owners of one of these amps had posted some comments on the EL84 output tubes he uses. I jumped into the thread.

The amp owner's initial talk was about some NOS Bugle Boy tubes from Holland:

I have no problem taking these out but how about a matched quad of matched Amperex Bugle Boys from Harleen in the early 60's.......got two spares also. I also have some RCA Blackplates but I will probably never try them

My initial comment back: I would save the NOS stuff for the studio. The JJ EL84S is a great sounding tube that has a long life and is reliable. Cathode biased EL84 amps go through tubes somewhat rapidly so I would save the NOS output tubes.

In many of Brad Paisley's amps the output sets are changed every 10 or so shows, about every 30 or so hours. I hand trace tubes about 20 quads at a time for Chad Weaver (Brad's tech). If anybody wants info on what I look for on Brad's tubes feel free to drop me a note.

In the case of Buddy Whittington; he and I share a common Z amp model where he always says mine sounds better than his when he borrows mine. Mine is dead stock as is Buddy's. The difference? Buddy changes his output tubes when there are months of hard use on them. When he borrows my amp I only have 5-10 hours on a new output set, enough time to assure reliability.

One of the other folks chimed in with:

Thanks for the great advice and info Myles! Anyway you would want to post "what I look for on Brad's tubes " here? or is that super duper private info?

That brought on my reply that I was the basis for this particular post:

Not private at all.

First, I ask my vendor to only send me tubes in a plate current range of 39-44 milliamps from their test machine. My test equipment is calibrated to the same standard as theirs, RCA book standard spec for an EL84.

Industry spec for an EL84 is 48mA but if plate current is dropped a touch the amp is a bit cleaner at Brad's settings and fits his personal taste better.

I look at some of the specs such as plate current, transconductance and plate resistance as initial checks but then I curve trace all quads and match them into sets based on their curve traces. There is a reason for this.

Just about every tube vendor I know matches tubes at idle for plate current. In some ways this is good enough but it only tests the tubes at idle. This is sort of my setting my Scion Xb to idle at 750 rpm and having the Doc set his BMW idle to 750 rpm and then stating the cars are matched.

I match traces over the entire operating range of the tube because I am pretty sure that when I have heard and watched Brad he does not play with his volume controls on the guitar and amp turned all the way down. Most tubes which are matched at idle show many places where they are not matched when operating.

I also look for rise time on the tubes because Brad sometimes plays notes that follow each other as fast as a speed metal player. Can't have a laggy tube in the set or articulation is compromised. There is also more background hum if things are not closely balanced.

As a side note, if Brad wants to soften things up Chad Weaver has a selection of different phase inverters so those can be changed to drive the output tubes in a different way to change output, clean headroom or change rise time and some aspects of distortion to the output set.

The tubes come from http://www.arselectronics.com/ where I deal directly with Marty who I have known for years. As he goes through EL84 tubes for their business he puts aside tubes that he knows I will need so when there is a need they are there to be sent to me in bulk.

A few EL84 data sheet links to go along with some I have posted on my GAB website:

I hope this answered some questions. If folks have others feel free to ask.

Myles Rose is the founder of ﻿Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services. You may contact me from the link. My direct contact information is provided as well as links to two of the Internet forums where I answer technical questions. You may also ask questions in any post in this blog by using the comment application on each post.

When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

2 comments:

Hi Myles. I have a JCM800 50 watt Super Lead Mk II. I would like to try one of your Higain preamp kits in it. I know you don't work for GT anymore and don't do the kits yourself. What spec tubes should I ask for and where can I get them? I live in Georgia. Thanks. Luke Smith

GT was bought by Fender in August of 2008. Prior to that I was SAG, made these kits, on my own equipment. I do not make them anymore and if GT/Fender states they do this would not be my product as this was my intellectual property prior to my employment at GT. Aspen Pittman had no legal right to attempt to sell my product to Fender.

I only supply tubes for my GAB clients. I am not in the tube sales business.

I cannot tell you what to ask for as it is a complicated formula that requires the use of a vacuum tube curve tracer and a half a dozen parameters need to be part of the equation. Please read my GT post elsewhere in this blog for SAG details.

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About Me

I started this blog on December 13, 2009 to raise awareness on the homeless situation which is growing due to the current economic situation in this country. Two priorities at this period in my life are helping the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles and helping musicians sound better one amp at a time.

Who am I?

It is said that a picture is speaks a thousand words. Here are over three thousand random photos in a slide show. This is what I do, who I know, where I go.

An emotionally draining slideshow which mixes art, whimsy, low production values, a general lack of composition, sexual tension, nausea and the feeling of foolishness you have if you can watch the entire show from beginning to end.

What could be better than an album of nothing but low resolution shots taken with my cellphone (and a few from friends cellphones as well) ... and then, take these low resolution photos and upload them in real time to facebook where the quality and size is reduced even more?

Why I do what I do

To the folks who ask why I do what I do.

For many decades I worked in the corporate sector for very large companies. I worked many hours each week.

On some occasions I actually felt as if I made a change in a life. I could help somebody in their career. I could teach somebody something technical. Those sorts of things.

40-60 hours a week or more was generally not all that rewarding other than the friends I made along the way and the occasional change as I was able to make a difference.

I worked hard to make changes in my own life as most of us do. I made money to buy a house, raise a family. Family and friends are one side of our lives. The outside world is another.

I now have two main "jobs" each day. One is to help guitarists sound better, one amp at a time. I help folks in the music business and pass on what I have learned over decades walking this planet. I also try to help other people who are building their own career. That is one of the joys of being my age. You can help those on their path of building their own lives.

My second "job" is helping the homeless on the streets on Los Angeles. Five or ten hours on the street each week helping people makes more of a direct impact on more people than a month of work in my old life. Whether I feed people a snack, listen to what they have to say, give them a card from http://www.urm.org/ or walk them down to Union Rescue Mission I feel I am making life a little better for somebody.

In order to do something good one generally has to do something as in perform some sort of action. Los Angeles has the highest homeless population in the nation. Perhaps I feel as if I needed to do something.

Pay Pal Donations and a bit more information

My paypal button. If you wish to make a direct donation to supply night time snacks to the homeless in the streets of Los Angeles please use the paypal button below.

The link below to paypal is to donate money for the healthy snacks I pass out to the folks that live on the street in the evenings. These are the folks that for their own reasons do not partake of the services offered by the missions.

My evening time spent on skid row is my own activity. The residents of the streets of skid row are my teachers. They each have things to say if you take the time to listen.

Helping me directly via paypal is not tax deductible. As many of you know more than 100% of these funds go to snacks for the folks on the street as I tend to take cash out of my own pocket.

If you would rather contribute to an organization where you can receive a tax deduction and use credit card, paypal, text message, personal check or most any other form of payment just hit the donate button at http://urm.org/ These folks know how to stetch a dollar and $10 will feed five people a healthy hot meal. The folks at URM help those in the system so to speak. I try to help those who reject organized assistance for their own personal reasons and do not wish to be in any system. In addition to my own activities I also contribute out of my own pocket to Union Rescue Mission.

Thank you

Union Rescue Mission - What they do.

I talk a lot about Union Rescue Mission on this blog. I also talk a lot about them on facebook. I talk about them on my GAB website.

Many of my friends have become friends with Union Rescue Mission and members of their staff. I am sure many of you feel the same way I do about what they do and are a little bit better for knowing them.

There is a place on the URM website where there are a few videos. If you take a few minutes to look at this page and the videos you may learn a bit more about the work these folks do. http://www.urm.org/services/what-we-do.html

Video Channel for Union Rescue Mission

I had a little video widget but blogger seems to have timing issues with youtube. Random videos were usually displayed from everywhere. The direct link below is much more reliable.

Take a few moments to make a big difference

To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction.

Serving thousands of meals per day is just one of many services provided by the folks at URM.

From the URM website: The Union Rescue Mission (URM) is one of the largest missions of its kind in America--bringing help and hope to homeless and desperately poor men, women, and children of downtown Los Angeles.

URM was founded in 1891 by Lyman Stewart, president and founder of Union Oil Company. George A. Hilton served as the first superintendent of the Mission, originally known as the Pacific Gospel Union. During those early days, URM took to the streets in gospel wagons to offer food, clothing, and salvation to the less fortunate.

Over the years URM has continued and expanded its efforts to feed both the body and the soul, helping individuals and families break the cycle of poverty and achieve self-sufficiency.

Saunders Stewart Models

Although I generally wear flannel and Levi 501s some seem to think I know a bit about fashion and take a decent photograph now and then. I am an owner/partner in a model agency ( www.saunders-stewart-models.com). We supply models to the music industry (music videos), spokesmodels, product models etc. If you would like to be considered for SSM representation (non-exclusive if you desire) please send an email to models@guitaramplifierblueprinting.com.

Continually changing shots of a few SSM models available for your projects

Subscribers

Blog Traffic - Total Post Reads

I track both subscriber count and reader/visitor count as they are two different sets of data. Subscribers are the long term audience who get updates each time something new is posted or an ongoing post is updated.

Subscriber statistics are in the section above this entry on the page.

This blog was created in December 2009. Statistics were enabled on July 1, 2010. From July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 there were more than 12 million reads of this blog.

The average readership is over 350,000 readers per month. There have been months with over two times that amount depending on the subjects posted. Posts are also seen on facebook, twitter, google buzz, blogger, digg it, atom and many other services that have opted to distribute my antics for reasons that are at times a mystery to me.

My Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting website continues to receive over 5,000 visitors per day but I now update this blog much more often than my GAB website. It is easier to update, I can do it from any computer or cell phone and has a content which is much more diverse than my music related website.

Thanks for following, thanks for reading and thank you for sending the link of this site to your friends.

Andy Bales and the staff of Union Rescue Mission, Jacqui Groseth, Alexander Cornejo II. Located in downtown Los Angeles, URM is the oldest and largest mission in the nation. The staff and entire organization at URM make me feel that my own small efforts to help the homeless have some degree of value. These folks serve over 3,000 meals a day (over a million meals a year) 365 days a year three meals a day. When I feel that the end goal seems to be like one pushing against the incoming tide and feel beaten down I think of Andy Bales and his staff and find a bit more drive to continue. Look at their website to see how many services these folks offer. www.urm.org